As an immigrant kid from Vietnam, I learned English through hip hop. Because my English was limited, I paid attention to the way rappers enunciate their words and the way they put together their bars. 2pac was one of my favorite rappers. Once I got past his cussing, dissing, and gang-banging, I found the raw emotions in his lyrics, in which he spoke eloquently about police brutality, domestic violence, and personal expression. I listened to rap because I didn’t want to read.

My son, Đán, is not a reader; therefore, I wanted to see if hip hop could help improve his language arts. Before letting him expose to rap, however, I had to explain to him that he has to get past the explicit content. He cannot repeat cuss words, which he already knew. We often listened together in the car during our ski trips. He liked good beats; therefore, I let him listen to Kanye. We pumped 808 & Heartbreak at max volume. The productions on the album were top-notch and the lyrics were clean. On “Welcome to Heartbreak,” Kanye spat with AutoTune:

My friend showed me pictures of his kids
And all I could show him was pictures of my cribs
He said his daughter got a brand new report card
And all I got was a brand new sports car

I broke down the rhymes and the wordplays in those four bars. I also pointed out that “Coldest Winter” was a beautiful tribute to Kanye’s mother. After we listened to 808 & Heartbreak for a while, I had an internal debate if I should let Đán listen to Yeezus, which is Kanye’s strongest album. The productions were hard and the rhymes were harder. “New Slaves” is one of Đán favorite tracks, in which Kanye spilled a handful of references on racism, but the refrain caught Đán’s attention. When Kanye repeated, “You see it’s leaders and it’s followers / But I’d rather be a dick than a swallower,” Đán asked me, “What does he mean by swallower?” Kanye spoke his mind and he might offend people, but he rather be a jerk than to swallow his words. Obviously, I didn’t tell him about the other reference. The only track that he couldn’t listen to on Yeezus is “I’m in It.” It was way too inappropriate for him.

Next up was My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. The productions on this album were fantastic. We always enjoyed the instrumental interlude to “All of the Lights.” Of course, his favorite track is “Monster,” in which Nicki Minaj contributed a monstrous verse. Đán asked me if I knew the word “sarcophagus,” and I did not know. He told me it’s a stone coffin. See, I also learned from my son.

In January, as we prepared to hit the road for our ski trip, I wanted to introduce Đán (and also Đạo) to something else other than Kanye. I remember Clispe’s classic Hell Hath No Fury. Again if we can get past the drug-dealing storytelling, we can enjoy the intricate rhyme patterns Malice and Push T had crafted: “I philosophize about Glocks and keys / Niggas call me Young Black Socrates.” What made me choose this album, however, was the productions supplied by The Neptunes. Just as I expected, Đán was drawn to the simple, crisp, and dark productions cooked up by Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo. After we listened to the entire album the first time, Đán told me he wanted to be a producer. I explained to him that in order to be a great producer, he had to know music. The best producers, such as Kanye, Dr. Dre, Pharrell Williams, Chad Hugo, and even Hoàng Touliver, know how to play keyboard. Learning piano is the foundation to beat-making.

Without telling me, Đán asked his mom to sign him up for private piano lessons. He started five weeks ago and had his first informal recital yesterday. He picked up fast and played well. I didn’t expect him to get into learning the piano, but he seems to have the chops for it. I hope he will keep his dream alive.

Tuy Thành Lê có quãng giọng hạn hẹp nhưng cô biết chọn bài vừa với tiếng hát của mình. Dear người tình gồm những ca khúc ngoại lời Việt quen thuộc như “Một thuở yêu người” (lời Việt Khúc Lan), “Đừng phá vỡ ân tình” (lời Việt Phạm Duy), và “Chiếc lá mùa đông” (lời Việt Khúc Lan).

Tuy không nổi bật nhưng dễ nghe qua giọng hát mong manh của Thành Lê và những phần hoà âm ballad nhẹ nhàng. Khi nàng thả nhẹ hai chữ cuối trong nhạc phẩm “Mưa trên biển vắng” (lời Việt Nhật Ngân), kháng giả sẽ cảm nhận được “hồn em”. Riêng “Người yêu dấu” (lời Việt Chí Tài) được phối theo phong cách bossa nova và “Ngàn năm vẫn đợi” (lời Việt Phạm Duy) được chút Latin-jazz flavor nên nghe thú vị.

Nhạc phẩm thành công nhất trong album là “Hận tình trong mưa” (lời Việt Phạm Duy) vì Thành Lê đã cố gắng để vượt qua khỏi quãng giọng hạn chế của mình để “Nói lên câu ân tình, tình đã chết nơi xa vời.”

Lâu rồi không nghe những ca khúc của nhạc sĩ Christophe. Mấy hôm nay nghe Lệ Thu Nguyễn trình bày lại những tác phẩm của ông khiến bao ký ức tràn về. Tuy không hiểu, nhưng tôi mê cái ngôn ngữ lãng mạn của tiếng Pháp và những giai điệu mộc mạc dễ gần của ông Christophe. Từ “Mal” đến “Aline” đến “Main dans la main” đến “Je suis parti” đến “Oh! Mon amour”, những nhạc phẩm này đã quá quen thuộc với tôi. Với giọng hát nhẹ nhàng của Lệ Thu Nguyễn cùng với những phần hòa âm rất ấn tượng của nhạc sĩ Olivier Renoir đã đem lại cho tôi những giây phút thoải mái, nhất là thêm một chai rượu wine. Cheers!

Với chất giọng alto êm dịu, Lệ Thu Nguyễn hát những tình khúc của nhạc sĩ Phú Quang rất hợp. Cùng với những nhà hoà âm tài tình, tiếng hát của Lệ Thu Nguyễn được thêm những âm thanh và màu sắc khác nhau. “Hà Nội ngày trở về” được nhạc sĩ Duy Cường phối khí theo phong cách bán cổ điển với dàn nhạc giao hưởng (orchestra). “Mơ về nơi xa lắm” được nhạc sĩ Olivier Renoir hoà âm theo điệu pop chậm pha với một chúc rock. “Biển, nỗi nhớ và em” được nhạc sĩ NC Phương Nam dàn dựng mộc mạc để tạo ra một không gian thính phòng. “Chiều đông Maskova” được nhạc sĩ Sỹ Đan đệm theo điệu bossa nova nhẹ nhàng. Đặc biệt là “Nỗi nhớ mùa đông” được nhạc sĩ Trần Minh Tuấn thổi vào chất blues buồn da diết, nhất là câu: “Nằm nghe xôn xao tiếng đời / Mà ngỡ ai đó nói cười / Bỗng nhớ cánh buồm xưa ấy / Giờ đây cũng bỏ ta đi.” Một album gần như hoàn hảo giữa nhạc, lời, và tiếng hát.

When Type Designer David Jonathan Ross sent out Warbler Text to members of his Font of the Month Club, I immediately updated the body text of my blog.

Even though Warbler Text supported Vietnamese, there were some issues with diacritical marks, including collisions between the horn and the hook above and the horn and the tilde. David reached out to me to review Vietnamese diacritics for Warbler Text. I went through everything related to diacritical marks for Vietnamese and made a list of suggestions. A week later, David sent me an update with all the corrections for Vietnamese diacritics.

If you read Vietnamese on my blog, please do a hard refresh to get the new changes. Warbler Text is such a pleasure to read; therefore, I featured it in Vietnamese Typography. If you want to get a copy of Warbler Text, I highly recommend you join David’s Font of the Month Club. Full membership is only $6 a month. Discount membership for $2 a month is also available.

Spent Saturday and Sunday at Liberty Mountain Resort from morning to late noon (around 4 hours each day). Had wonderful times skiing with the kids.

The weather is getting warmer and warmer. The season will end in a couple of weeks. We just have to ski as much as we can before the resorts closed up.

Skiing is a great sport. If you haven’t try it, give it a shot next season. It isn’t that hard, yet tons of fun and excellent exercise. I only started two years ago and skipped last year. This year I started off at the green slopes then moved to blue slopes, then black slopes, then double black slopes.

I have to credit my sons, especially Đạo, for encouraging me to take on the double black slopes. Once I watched him skiing down, I knew I could make it. Đạo and I were around the same level, but he had surpassed me. He can ski over moguls with ease. I navigate my way around them instead of flowing with them. He started off the season doing pizza, but I encouraged him to switch to parallel. It opened up a whole new world for him once he made the switch.

Đán is incredibly good with snowboarding. We took a two-hour lesson together. The instructor told us to stay at the bunny slope to practice, but he went on the green slope. He fell quite a bit at first, but eventually got it. I, on the other hand, gave up and switched back to skiing. My thumb is still sore a bit from the fall on the magic carpet on snowboard.

Once I switched back to skiing, I started to learn techniques on my own. I began with switching from pizza to parallel, then short turns, then hockey stops, then jump hockey stops, then hop turns. These techniques allow me to ski with confidence on any terrain. I am still working on my carvings. I have been enjoying skiing the double slopes so much that I haven’t spent the time learning carvings at the green slopes.

Xuân is doing quite well with skiing. He can do the blues, blacks, and even double blacks. He still relied on the pizza technique a lot. I am trying to teach him to ski parallel. Once he can make the switch, he will be a much better skier. He can already do the hockey stop. He just need to switch his mind.

Vương hadn’t taken any lessons. I just connected his skis with a Wedgie Edgie and strap him on a harness. He just skied straight down the slopes with me slowing him down or helping him to turn. He doesn’t know how to stop or to turn. He doesn’t do the pizza either, which is good. I hope to give him lessons next year.

My wife is also starting out this year. She didn’t have the time to practice because Vương kept clinging to her. He only did a couple of runs with me before asking for his mom. I hope next year he will be less attached to her so she can learn more.

We had a fantastic season. We used the crap out of our Epic passes. With the passes and our skis, we skipped the lift ticket and rental lines, which were always incredibly long. On weekends, people had to stand two hours in line just to get their rental. By the time we left around 1pm or 2 pm, the line snaked out all the way to the drop off area. I am glad we didn’t have to stand in that line.

Yesterday I took off work to drive to Lancaster, Pennsylvania to see my uncle for the last time. Since the viewing didn’t take place until 6 pm, I had plenty of time to myself. After dropping Đạo off at school at 8 am, I headed straight to Roundtop first. It was a warm day, but the terrains were well groomed. Since it was a Wednesday, there was hardly anyone. I shared the lifts with two men separately, one was semi-retiring and one was fully retired. The latter told me that he skied two hours a day and three days a week. Obviously he only skied on the weekdays to avoid the crowd. He made me want to retire myself.

I did six runs down the Gunbarrel, which was the double black diamond that kept falling on Sunday. Because it was well groomed, I did not fall at all. Then I did three runs over the moguls. I navigated my way around the high and steep ones, but I made it down without my skis popping off. As much as I enjoyed my quiet moment alone, I missed my kids. I wish they were there with me. Needless to say, I love skiing. As people are looking forward to warmer weather, I want cold weather and snow to continue for as long as possible.

At noon I took a lunch break and headed back to the slopes. Before 2 pm, I went into the cafeteria to attend a work meeting. I was going to skip it, but I decided to join since it was my boss’s last meeting. She’s retiring as well. After the meeting ended, I headed to Landisville to drop off a bag of durian coffee for an old friend from high school. I hadn’t met in a long time. I met her at her barbershop. We chatted a bit in between her appointments. It seemed like she was doing well.

After visiting my friend, I went to my sister’s house to drop off my stuff and headed over to the funeral home to see my uncle. He looked beautiful and rested. I met many family members and helped set up the tables with fruits and flowers for tomorrow’s service. After the viewing, I took my sisters, nephew, and his wife to hibachi grill. It was nice catching up with my little family again.

Qua lời mở đầu, chị Kim Anh cho biết Men tình là album để đời của chị, và ca khúc tựa đề cũng do chị sáng tác trong tâm trạng cô đơn và cô độc nhất. Với phần nhạc mộc mạc (guitar và saxophone), chị hát như trải lòng cuộc đời mình: “Và đêm nay dưới ánh đèn màu / Người anh đây nhưng tim anh ở nơi đâu / Anh ơi anh đâu rồi? Môi em khô cạn hồn em nát tan”.

Từ lúc “Mùa thu lá bay”, mấy mươi năm đã không nghe chị hát. Giờ đây giọng chị vẫn nồng nàng nhưng lắng đọng hơn. Chị hát “Gõ cửa” của nhạc sĩ Mạnh Quỳnh như muốn chìm đắm nổi buồn trong giai điệu blues say sưa, nhất là khi tiếng kèn trumpet bè theo chất giọng khàn của chị: “Luyến ái làm chi sẽ khổ lắm anh / Ðếm lá mùa thu vương đổ bên thềm”.

Với “Vết thương cuối cùng”, chị trút hết tâm trạng của mình vào từng lời hát của nhạc sĩ Nguyễn Văn Để và tiếng saxophone như đẫm muối vào vết thương đau ngọt ngào của chị để rồi chị thót lên: “Từ nay chỉ còn lại mình ta / Già thêm tuổi chia xa / Tiếc cho ngày đã qua”. Thắm quá.

Sự đóng góp nhiệt tình và phù hợp của nhạc sĩ Hiệp Định (piano và keyboard), Bá Thiệu (guitar), Đông Hoà (saxophone), Tạ Hiền (violin), và Quang Dũng (đàn tranh, sáo, và bầu) đã đem đến cho chị một sản phẩm hoàn hảo. Hy vọng rằng chị sẽ cho ra thêm những cuốn băng để đời nữa trong tương lai.

Dear Deborah,

According to my LinkedIn profile, I have been working at the law school for 10 years and 4 months. In the web industry, a decade is eternity, but my work here feels just like yesterday because of you and your leadership. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for everything you have done, not just for me, but for all of us at the Law Library.

When I applied for the position of web services developer at the Law Library, I was desperate to get out of a hostile, stressful environment at my previous job. During the interview process, I didn’t think I could handle the server administration part of the job and I was being completely honest with you about it in our conversation, but you took a chance on me. Through training and learning on the job, I picked up a new set of backend skills I would never have learned on my own. Thank you for placing your trust in me.

From day one, you gave me the flexibility I needed to achieve my professional goals as well as my personal life. When I wanted to pursue the graduate program in graphic design at Mason’s School of Art, you gave me support and motivation. As a result, I was able to apply my design skills to my job by offering print design services to the law school. When I took on this position, my wife and I had one son. In seven years, we grew to four. Raising young children while working was challenging, but your understanding and accommodating made it less stressful. I could take the time I needed, especially when one of our kids got sick, to tend to my family. In return, I always made sure that I was on top of my responsibility and productivity at work.

Your management style has made my time here enjoyable. By allowing me to take responsibility for my own work, I put my time and effort into areas that met the law school expectations and improved our user experience. I prioritized projects that needed the most attention as well as tasks that weren’t urgent but necessary. When it was my time to manage others, I treated them the same way you have treated me: trust, respect, and compassion.

Through your caring nature and fostering guidance, you have put together a diverse, dedicated, and talented team. I have had the pleasure of collaborating with and learning from my wonderful, friendly colleagues. We appreciated each other’s area of expertise and worked together to come up with the best solutions for our projects. When I needed help, I could reach out to any of my colleagues—not just work-related, but also personal development. The fact that our team feels more like an extended family than just a group of co-workers and the low turnover speaks volume about your leadership skills and your accomplishments. We stick around because we have an amazing leader. It will be hard without you at the helm.

While I am sad to see you go, I am happy for your retirement. Your dedication to this job and to all of us is deeply appreciated. You deserve the time off to focus on your life and your family. Your presence and influence will truly be missed, but I wish the next chapter of your life filled with joy, relaxation, and great health. Please stay in touch.

Sincerely yours,

Donny Truong

Ali Wong’s third Netflix Special dropped on Valentine’s Day, but don’t expect any romantic materials from the foul-mouthed comedian who walks the fine line between vulgarity and authenticity. She defends feminism (money, power, and respect) and talks about taking cum on her face at the same time. How does it feel to cum on the face of a millionaire? She explains, “Sure, you’ve gotten head, but have you ejaculated onto a great American mind? Has your sperm swam in the eyes of an icon? Have you been deep-throated by a voice of a generation?” She is so damn nasty and yet brilliant. Success in the standup world is when you get high paid for talking shit. Ali Wong is full of shit and she knows it and capitalizes on it. Her writing is still sharp, witty, and punchy; therefore, her latest special is worth streaming.